1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a water soluble liquid iodine concentrate comprising iodine, dimethyl sulfoxide, and a liquid detergent in solution; an iodine bacteriocidal composition comprising said concentrate in aqueous solution; and methods for making said concentrate and composition.
The efficacy of iodine as a bacteriocidal cleaning and sanitizing agent has long been recognized. Minute quantities in aqueous solution have long been used for germicidal purposes on animals, especially man, and in cleansing and sanitizing furniture, fixtures, instruments and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common knowledge that iodine is a solid material which is relatively insoluble in water and other solvents. The best prior practices have only been able to attain dilute aqueous solutions and then only with considerable trouble, time, and expense. Commercially, it has been the practice to cook solid iodine at elevated temperatures over long periods of time in synthetic detergents to dissolve the iodine into the detergents. Such procedures have been hazardous, produce undesirable iodinated by-products and fuming. Further, such procedures have resulted in excessive iodine loss by the production of undesirable iodine compounds and by the escape of the fuming iodine. Further, the most concentrated iodine solutions attainable have been highly diluted.
While the "Hot Processes" for forming iodine solutions have dominated commercial iodine production, there have been other procedures of varying efficacy. However, none has produced an iodine concentrate suitable for storing and transportation which can be quickly and easily dissolved in water for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,599,140 relates to a disinfecting detergent containing iodine in which the maximum of elemental iodine in the composition is 10% and the maximum of alkali metal iodine is 15%.
The iodine detergent solution of U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,116 achieves a concentration of from one to five percent by weight of free iodine in water.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,355,386 relates to germicidal nonionic-detergent iodine compositions and is primarily concerned with color enhancement. Even at elevated temperatures of 50.degree. C. the maximum iodine concentration appears to be 25%.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,905 discloses an iodine-containing non-ionic surfactant composition. Even though the mixtures taught by the patent are heated to elevated temperatures of from 50.degree. to 150.degree. C. for protracted periods, only dilute solutions of iodine are achieved.
The enhancing tissue penetration of physiologically active agents with DMSO of U.S. Pat. No. 3,551,554 is largely concerned with the utilization of DMSO as a carrier for physiologically active steroids, antineoplastic agents, antigens, and the like. The patent teaches that DMSO can be employed as a penetrating carrier for iodine but in no respect suggests that DMSO can be utilized to achieve concentrated iodine solutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,654,165 discloses a telephone cleaner-sanitizer which contains minute quantities of iodine.
Thus, it will be seen that the prior art has produced only dilute iodine solutions. While such dilute solutions are highly effective for bacteriocidal, sanitizing and cleansing purposes, they require vast quantities of water for diluent purposes, making storage and transportation, space consuming, laborious and expensive. Further, prior to the present invention, solutions of iodine were generally difficult to achieve, expensive to produce, and in many instances not as stable as desired.